


A Fevered Dream

by Reiven



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Bedside Vigils, Fever, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Intubation, Jason's Knee Injury, Pre-Movie, Scott Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-05 14:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13389987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reiven/pseuds/Reiven
Summary: [Completed] Before the coins, before Zordon, before the Power Rangers – there was only Jason, and he’d just spent three nights in jail for the stupid prank gone wrong. He was still in the clothes he was arrested in, he looked terrible, he felt terrible and his knee was absolutely killing him. The first thing he wanted to do when he stepped through the door of his room was go to sleep and never wake up again.Little did he know that his wish almost turned out to be reality.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the **Monthly Whump Prompt Challenge - January 2k18**
>
>> Write a scene where your whumpee is being rushed into the ER on a gurney, face pale with blood loss and/or fever but their cheeks are flushed as their eyes are half lidded and they gasp into an oxygen mask.

He’d just spent three days languishing in Angel Grove’s shithole of a prison. He was still in his blood splattered clothes, grimy and dirty; the sheriff had been kind enough to let him shower before he left and offered him some clean clothes but he’d declined. His dad was going to get the full taste of what he’d been going through and marinating in for the three days he left him there to wallow in his shame.

Truthfully, it hurt, but he wasn’t all that surprised. His had had always been about the  _doing_ ; no nonsense and taking each moment by the balls, which was fine for him because he had only his own expectation to meet – it was slightly more stressful on Jason having to live up to those expectations and his dad trying to relive this lost youth vicariously through him.

He knew that his dad only had his best interest at heart; he didn’t want his son to end up where he did, living with regret thinking about the life he could have lived. It wasn’t that his dad hated his life, but Jason could see that sometimes his dad did wonder whether he was meant for  _more_. If there had been a more promising future for him out there but he’d let the opportunity slip through his fingers.

Ultimately Jason knew his dad only wanted the best of him, but leaving him in jail for three whole days freaking sucked.

His head was pounding and the vibration of the truck wasn’t helping it one bit. His knee was absolutely killing him but he refused to make a show of it. He’d been checked out by the medics after the accident and given a clean bill of health. Besides a little bloodied mouth from where he’d bit his lip and some scrapes that they cleaned up, he really was no worse for wear. Except that he’d failed to mention the twinge he felt in his knee when one of EMT’s asked if anything else was hurting – it wasn’t a big deal at the time and he wasn’t about to admit even more shame than he was already in at that point. But the ache had quickly turned into pain over the course of the three days he was in jail and by that point sitting in the truck with his dad, it had ventured completely into the territory of agony. It was so painful it was almost numb. But he refused to show any sign of weakness, especially not in that moment with his dad sitting beside him, trying but failing terribly to hide his rage.

His dad didn’t speak a single word the whole drive home and Jason didn’t feel like being the one to break the ice. There was nothing he could have said to fix the situation anyway so why even bother?

The moment they pulled into the driveway and the car was put in park, his dad was out of his seat, out the door and halfway up the pathway leading to their house, leaving Jason behind without a word to limp pathetically after him.

But he refused to show weakness, so he bit him lip and steeled himself and tried to force his gait into something more normal and less screaming out with agony the moment he stepped through the door –

– And was almost bowled over by the small figure that plowed into him, embracing him tight around the midsection and burying her face in his stomach.

“Jason!” cried Pearl, “I missed you!”

All his stoicism and the anger that had been bubbling inside him immediately fizzled out at the sound of his little sister’s voice. “I missed you too, Pearl,” he said, the smile breaking free onto his face before he could put a stop to it.

“Are you okay?” she asked, finally glancing up to meet his eyes; her own eyes glistening with pooling tears. “Why didn’t you come home?”

Jason felt his smile dim somewhat at the question. “I – uh, had some stuff to take care off,” he said, his eyes glancing over to where his dad was looking at him from the threshold of the door leading into the kitchen. When he noticed his eyes on him, he immediately turned around and walked the rest of the way in, leaving Jason to stare at his receding back. “But I’m home now, so…” he said, returning his gaze to look at his sister.

Pearl didn’t look comforted in the slightest. Her eyes were still teary and she was still holding on to him like she didn’t want to let go again.

“Oh, honey.” He turned at the sound of his mom’s voice but was stopped abruptly by her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his ear so that his sister wouldn’t hear, “I tried to talk dad-”

“It’s fine, mom,” he said quickly. It was still a sore topic and one he didn’t really want to get into just yet. “I’m uh – I’ll be in my room, change my clothes and just… you know…” he said, stepping out of his mom’s embrace and putting his hands on Pearl’s shoulder to gently nudge her out of the hug. Normally he would have let her latch on for however long she wanted but he was about dead on his feet, his knee was burning and his head was pounding so hard he couldn’t feel it going in rhythm with his own heartbeat.

“Okay,” his mom said, reaching out to pull Pearl against her side. “Let your brother rest for a while, sweetheart,” she said.

Pearl was a bit more than hesitant to let go which made Jason feel like an even shitter person than he already did, but the alternative would have been passing out right in front of them and giving his dad even more reason so be disappointed, so he opted against it.

“We’ll pick this back up later, okay?” he said, leaning down slightly to place his hand on his sister’s shoulder. She just gave a small hesitant nod but didn’t say anything.

Without looking in the direction of the kitchen where his dad was hiding away licking his wounds – as if he was the one who just spent three days in jail – he made his way across the living room and into his room, closing the door behind him and finally allowing the mask to slip.

His knee was barely holding his weight at that point and he managed to grab onto the back of the chair just in time before his knee completely gave out; hopping over to his bed painfully and settling himself down on the edge of the mattress with a groan.

Even that small bit of effort already left him a winded, sweating mess, but on the inside he was freezing cold. His head was doing an impeccable impersonation of a concrete floor being worked over by a jackhammer; his whole leg was numb, he was sweating bullets and feeling a chill down to his very bones at the same freaking time – basically, he felt like crap.

He was glad that he was alone wallowing in his own self-pity at that moment.

He’d been feeling terrible for a couple of days already by that point, but he’d called his dad once already when he was just arrested and his dad had told him to take the time to rethink his dumb decisions and where it would end up leading him in life before hanging up the phone. It was the police that informed him that his dad had refused to post bail and was instead giving him time to quote-unquote, mull things over, so he was adamant on not pathetically calling him again just to have it thrown back in his face.

He was home, his mom and his sister were there and he was in his own familiar bed, in his own room that had the lingering smell of unwashed socks. He just needed a couple of hours of good sleep to get himself right again.

He didn’t realize he’d even moved until he was suddenly on his back, staring at the ceiling that was spinning around and around and a strange, blurry blob that suddenly appeared in his line of sight, calling his name softly.

And then there was only darkness.

–

Beverly couldn’t do more than try and comfort her daughter as she watched Jason’s receding back disappear into his room with a click of the door. Her husband was silently brooding in the kitchen, taking out his pent up anger on the unfortunate carton of juice instead of talking out his frustrations like an adult. But it was probably for the best. Jason was finally home after the ordeal he had – sure Beverly had been angry when she first heard, but that anger really couldn’t compare to how angry she really was at herself and her husband for the way he reacted, leaving their son in jail like that for that long. She should have been more stern in her protest when he refused to go pick him up at the station and she had only herself to blame for not sticking to her guns and going to get him herself.

But Jason was finally home, Pearl might finally be able to go to bed without crying for the first time in three days and perhaps her son and husband might be able to find a way to work out the apprehension that had been brewing between them for months. The incident at the school and the subsequent crash wasn’t the start of the problems between the two, but it was the catalyst that finally brought it all to a head.

She sent Pearl off to her room before she walked into the kitchen, unintentionally light in her steps as she leaned back to perch on the counter watching as Sam paced up and down the length of the kitchen.

“We need to talk about this,” she said.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” said Sam without turning to look at her.

“You left our son in jail for three days –  _three days_ , Sam. Whatever he did -”

“ _’Whatever’_  he did?” repeated Sam angrily, turning around in his step, “He stole a cow then led police on a car chase across a residential area before crashing into another parked vehicle! His career in football is gone, Beverly. It’s gone! His future? Gone!”

“Is that really all you care about?” she asked, brows furrowed and a look of disbelief on her face, “Yes he did a terribly, stupid, irresponsible thing, but he could have died, Sam! Our son could have died – and you’re concerned about football,” she scoffed.

“Don’t you dare put words in my mouth. Of course I care about him beyond football; but that was his ticket out of this dead end town – he could have been something; he could have gone places. But now the only thing he has is a record and the only thing he can look forward to in his future is a sentencing, possibly jail time.”

Beverly didn’t answer, she just sighed, running her hand across her face tiredly. What he said wasn’t wrong, but he went about it the wrong way with Jason. She knew that Jason was just like his father, the more someone pushed him, the more he’d push back and not in a good way. She was afraid that all this would just achieve the opposite of what Sam wanted to see happen and she was afraid that perhaps this time he’d pushed their son just a little too hard.

They both stood in silence in the kitchen for a long while, Sam having turned back to lean his arms on the counter, head bowed low. Beverly wrapped her arms around herself and just accepted the quiet – until Pearl all of a sudden ran into the kitchen.

“Mommy,” she called out, making a beeline for her and not even looking in the direction of her father. “Mommy, Jason won’t wake up.”

Beverly circled her arms around her daughter’s shoulders and forced a small smile.  “Oh hon, Jason’s probably just tired. He’s been through a lot the last few days –”

“No it’s not that,” argued Pearl, “He was acting really strange and then he fell asleep and now he won’t wake up. And his skin feels really hot.”

Sam just grumbled from his position at the far end of the room. “As if he hasn’t caused this family enough grief,” he said. Pearl looked worriedly between her and Sam but she reached over to cup her face gently, beckoning her to keep her attention away from her father. “Come on, let’s go check on Jason, okay?”

Sam’s words were biting, but Beverly didn’t feel the need for all that much concern either. Jason had been through a lot over the last couple of days; he was probably exhausted. Not to mention Pearl had been on edge about Jason not being home for a while so even the smallest uncharacteristic behaviour he showed would probably alarm her.

Jason was indeed sleeping when Beverly entered the room, half curled up on his side, his back facing the foot of the bed. Pearl pulled her hand out of her grasp and ran over, jumping onto the bed and crawling over to Jason, grasping at his shoulder and shaking him vigorously.

Beverly was about a foot away before she noticed that he looked unnaturally pale, even paler than when he’d walked in through the door not fifteen minutes earlier. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his breathing was coming out shallow and laboured. Immediately she rushed over, gently nudging Pearl out of the way, crouching down onto one knee on the bed and reaching over to grasp his shoulder with one hand; the other reaching out to cup the side of his face.

His skin was scorching hot to the touch and yet unnaturally cold at the same time.

“Jason?” she called out, at first tentatively, shaking him gently by the shoulders; when he didn’t even stir, her tone became more urgent and panicked. She could hear Pearl starting to cry beside her but she needed to keep her attention on her son. “Jason? Can you hear me?  _Jason_  – wake up!” her other hand started patting him gently on the side of the cheek, trying to arouse him but it did nothing. His eyes remained closed and his breathing remained laboured and sweat continued trickling down the side of his face to drip onto the mattress. “ _Sam!_ ” she called out finally.

At the point Pearl was outright sobbing, almost hiccupping Jason’s name through her tears.

Sam must have heard something in the tone of her voice or the sound of Pearl crying because he rushed in not a second later. “Beverly, wha–”

“Sam, call an ambulance!” she yelled, barely turning around to look at her husband, her hand still frantically shaking Jason by the shoulder. “Jason – come on, honey,” she called out, “You’re scaring us. You’re scaring your sister.” She could hear the sound of Sam’s footsteps hurrying down the hallway to get his cellphone in the kitchen.  She retracted her other hand and reached out to pull the sobbing Pearl into her chest. “It’s okay, Pearl. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” she said like a mantra into her ear; unsure whether she was saying those words for Pearl’s sake or for her own.

She could hear the sound of Sam still talking with the 911-operator when he rushed back into the room. “– I don’t know, he’s not waking up; seems like he has a fever – I don’t know, he was perfectly fine just ten minutes ago.”

Beverly straightened up and took a step back, grasping Pearl by the underarms and lifting her up into an embrace as Sam took her position, leaning over Jason and reaching over to feel his forehead with the back of his hand.

Beverly couldn’t concentrate on what her husband was saying to the person on the other end of the line. Her heart was pounding in her chest and between the sound of her heartbeat ringing in her ear and Pearl’s worried sobbing just as close, she could scarcely keep her own tears at bay.

She didn’t know how long it took the ambulance to get there, but Jason didn’t stir once the entire time and she was terrified. She held onto her daughter, holding her tight against her chest and rocking her gently in her arms, keeping her eyes away from the sight of Jason unconscious in his bed. She watched as Sam kept talking with the operator all while keeping his attention focused completely on Jason, his hand combing through his hair and stroking his cheek with a gentleness she hadn’t seen since Jason was a baby and she watched as Sam held him for the very first time.

“Jason, come on son. I’m sorry – I’m so sorry,” she heard him say and was barely able to hold back the sob bubbling in the back of her throat.

But then all of a sudden the EMT’s were there, shuffling in – she hadn’t even noticed when Sam left the room to go let them in – convening on Jason and blocking him from her sight.

She felt strong arms circling around her shoulder and looked up to see Sam’s teary face as he pulled her and Pearl into a hug, holding them both close, watching apprehensively as the medic’s continued working on Jason.

The subsequent ride to the hospital after the medics had managed to stabilize him for transfer did nothing to calm her fraying nerves. Jason’s temperature was too high and even the medics couldn’t pinpoint the cause of his sudden fever. Sam had managed to pry Pearl out of her grasp and even though the sound of her daughter’s whimpers broke her heart, she knew that she was in no position to drive her and Pearl to the hospital. So it was her and one of the medics in the back of the wailing ambulance speeding towards the hospital while Sam drove him and Pearl in his truck.

Jason was still unresponsive, strapped onto the gurney with a mask covering his mouth and nose and a steady beeping noise sounding in the background.

Beverly ran a thumb across the back of his hand that she had clutched tight in her own, looking at his face, pale and his cheeks flushed from the fever.

When she called out his name, reaching over to run her fingers through her hair, she did so not really expecting a response, but all of a sudden his eyes cracked open a fraction; his eyes were heavy-lidded and glassy, staring confusedly at the roof of the ambulance.

“Jason?” she called out a bit more hopefully this time, scooting a bit further down her seat and leaned closer into his line of sight. “Honey, it’s mom,” she said, her hand brushing his hair back a few more times before she came to rest her palm on his burning forehead, hoping to offer some sort of relief with the coolness of her hand.

Jason didn’t seem to notice that she was even there; his eyes were darting around confusedly and his breathing shallow; his breath misting up the oxygen mask every time he exhaled.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity in Beverly’s mind, his eyes finally focused on hers; his eyelids drooping sleepily as he kept forcing them back open.

“Hi,” she said through a teary smile, leaning down to plant a small kiss on his forehead. “You really scared us there, sweetheart. But it’s going to be okay, I’m here,” she said.

Jason didn’t answer. He kept her gaze. Just when he opened his mouth as if to say something, all of a sudden he clenched his eyes shut, a pained scream was ripped from his throat and his back arched off the gurney. The beeping on the heart monitor went crazy and Beverly’s small smile immediately dropped; she looked over at the medic that was sitting at the head of the gurney in time to see him reaching over to place his arms on Jason’s shoulders.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked – almost pleaded, grabbing onto his arm in a much firmer grip. “Jason, talk to me  _please_.”

His eyes were still clenched tight, his hand balled into a fist; fingernails digging into the flesh of his palm. Beverly and the medic had to lean in close to hear when a pained gasp escaped his lips that sounded like he was saying ‘knee’, which prompted the medic into action immediately. He got out a pair of medical scissors and stepped around Beverly to crouch at the foot of the gurney, reaching immediately for his right leg – the leg that wasn’t bending and straightening restlessly against the straps holding him down and ran the blade up through the material of his jeans up to his thigh.

Beverly nearly gasped when she caught sight of her son’s knee; it was painfully bruised and swollen almost twice its normal size, before she realized that he’d been suffering through it for more than three days at that point; ever since the accident. The thought of that finally opened the dam and Beverly could do nothing to stop the tears anymore.

“Oh Jason, I’m so sorry,” she said, leaning down to rest her forehead on his, her fingers brushing his bangs off his damp forehead. His eyes were still shut and his breath was coming out hitched and painful until the medic finally returned to his place and administered what Beverly could only guess were painkillers because slowly the pained expression eased off his face and his glazed over eyes finally opened again. “I’m so sorry Jason, I love you,” she repeated when she finally noticed his eyes looking at her.

He didn’t answer though he kept her gaze until his eyes finally slipped shut again and he was once again lost to the world.

**Tbc.**


	2. Chapter 2

Jason was rushed straight into emergency when they arrived and Beverly was stopped at the door, not allowed to accompany her son the rest of the way into the room. So she waited, pacing nervously up and down the space in front of the door, watching anxiously as the flurry of doctors and nurses worked on Jason.

A young, terrified voice calling out, “Mom,” was the only indication she needed; turning around just in time to see Pearl running down the hallway towards her.

She scooped her up into her arms the moment she came within range  and held her close.

“How’s Jason?” she asked immediately.

“The doctors are with him. They’ll find out what’s wrong with him and fix it, don’t worry baby,” she said, though the words sounded more convincing being said aloud than it did in her heart.

“How is he?” asked Sam when he walked up.

Beverly immediately turned to face him. She wanted to be angry at him, yell at him, hit him – something. If he’d gone to bail Jason out three days ago they probably wouldn’t even be in that situation. But his expression was one of complete heartbreak; his eyes were glistening under the lights and he looked just absolutely crestfallen that Beverly didn’t even have the heart. “The doctors are looking at him now.” She slowly lowered Pearl down onto one of the chairs pushed up against the wall, telling her to sit there for a while before walking over to her husband.

“What?” he asked nervously when she approached. There must have been something on her face that gave away that there was something wrong.

She took a breath. “It’s his knee,” she said.

“What about it?”

“I don’t know for certain, but the medic mentioned something about a meniscal tear. I… I think he may have injured it in the crash and not realized, and it only got worse because it wasn’t treated. It could be what caused his fever, the pain and the stress of the last couple of days…” Beverly trailed off; there really was no way to sugar coat it for Sam and it was apparently by the what he inwardly cringed, bringing his hands up to cover his face, the very epitome of shame.

“I did this,” he murmured regretfully. “This is all my fault.”

“It’s not… _both us_ – we should have handled this whole situation better, but we didn’t. This is on us.”

Whatever she intended to add was interrupted by one of the doctors walking out of the ER to let them know that they were currently treating him for hyperpyrexia, which meant that his fever had skyrocketed dangerously high, by trying to bring down his temperature with ice packs and cooling blankets. Jason needed to have surgery on his knee, but his poor condition would make it impossible to perform the operation safely so they were treating the most pressing concern first. They were allowed to go sit with him for a while they worked to bring his fever down.

Beverly wanted to go in, of course she did, that was her son in there, but she had to think about Pearl, not wanting her to see her brother in that condition and Sam wasn’t in the headspace to comfort Pearl and keep his own emotions under control at the same time, so Beverly opted to stay back with Pearl and had Sam go on to be with Jason. It wasn’t easy watching him disappear behind the doors; she wanted to be there with her son, but what she wanted wasn’t what she needed to do in that moment, which was be a parent to Pearl; it was one of the most difficult choices she had to make as a parent – choosing between her two children – but it was something she needed to do, and she did it, and it broke her heart to pieces.

\--

Seeing Jason in the hospital bed wasn’t going to be easy, Sam knew that going in; he hadn’t even been the one riding in the ambulance with him, instead having to drive the whole way there with his heart in his throat and his daughter bawling her eyes out in passenger seat of the truck. He didn’t think he’d ever been through a situation so stressful.

But actually laying his eyes on his son in that emergency room, surrounded by machines, stripped down and covered by cooling blankets and icepacks under his arms and neck, his bandaged knee propped up on a stack of pillows – a tube down his throat helping his breathe; the doctor had informed him going in that it was just a precaution because his fever was so high; having to see it with his own two eyes drove the breath completely from his own lungs.

_He did this._

He only had himself to blame for leaving his son to suffer and causing him to end up in that condition. It was his fault.

He approached the bed cautiously, the sounds of the machines beeping and hissing like it was amplified inside his muddled brain.

 _He did this_.

He reached out for his son’s hand, grasping it tight within his own and brought it up to his lips, planting a soft kiss on the back of his knuckles, his other hand reaching over to brush a wayward strand of hair off his forehead.

“Jason,” he called out, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry son,” he said, leaning in close to whisper into his ear and pausing for a beat waiting for… something… something deep down he knew wouldn’t happen but it was no less heartbreaking when Jason didn’t respond, before plating a kiss on his son’s still too hot forehead.

He didn’t even stir. His eyes remained closed, his chest rose and fell with every hiss of the ventilator and Sam’s eyes could only follow the single bead of sweat as it trickled down the side of his temple to splash onto the bed.

Beverly was outside comforting Pearl – she was always so much better at that that him, with both their kids. The only thing he managed to do was make everything worse and push his own children away even though that was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. Not only had he managed to create the wall between him and Jason, he didn’t fail to notice the fear in Pearl’s eyes when she looked at him back at the house earlier; back when everything was still alright, Jason was angry at him and rightfully so, instead of them being there at the hospital, Jason fighting for his life and Sam being unable to do anything other than watch on helplessly and knowing in his heart that _he did this_.

And if… if Jason didn’t mak – he had to stop himself from even considering that possibility. He needed to be strong for his family; for his son and daughter; for his wife. He needed to finally get his head out of his ass and be there for Jason the way he needed him to in that moment. It was his anger and his pride that put Jason in the hospital and it would take an eternity to even think of making it up to his family but he was adamant on starting at that point.

He didn’t know how long he stayed there by Jason’s side holding his hand, a few hours at least, before the doctors came and told him they were moving him to the ICU. His temperature had gone down slightly but was still dangerously high and they wanted to keep a close eye on him just in case any complications arose. He would still have to undergo surgery to repair his knee, but that wouldn’t be able to happen if they couldn’t get his fever down.

Sam was forced to step aside as the medical people prepared Jason for the transfer and followed the gurney closely as they wheeled him out of the emergency room, latching onto his hand the moment he was able to.

Beverly was standing in the hallway, gently rocking a sleeping Pearl slack in her arms when they exited and Sam’s eyes found hers the moment her gaze fell on Jason and he could see the way she just completely crumbled on the inside. He hesitated for a split second before releasing his hold on Jason’s hand and rushing over to hug his wife before she burst into silent tears, holding her close to him.

“The doctor said it’s just a precaution,” he said to her, careful not to wake up Pearl with his voice.

“That’s our baby, Sam,” said Beverly through her tears, “Why is this happening? He’s a good kid, he doesn’t deserve this.”

“I know… just… we need to be strong for Jason’s sake and for Pearl’s sake. He’s going to be okay; we just… we just need to stay strong,” he said. “Why don’t you take Pearl home for a bit? I’ll call Alan to come pick you up so you don’t have to drive. They just want to keep an eye on him for a while, make sure there are no complications. He’ll be right as rain in no time, you’ll just see.”

Beverly seemed hesitant to the offer but finally she relented. Sniffling softly as she nodded.

“I’ll just see to Jason first and then I’ll call Alan once he’s settled. Why don’t you go to the cafeteria for a while? I’ll ask him to find you there.”

Beverly didn’t answer, only nodding her head before Sam plated a kiss on her forehead and rushing off to catch up with the medical team, finding them at the elevator, holding the door open for him to enter.

Temporary didn’t seem to mean the same thing to the doctors as it did to Sam because it was two days spent in the ICU watching over his son’s comatose figure; listening to the repetitive sounds of the life-support machines and mulling over everything he did wrong as a parent to end up in that position, before Jason’s fever finally broke and almost another day after that before he started showing signs that he was starting to wake up.

Beverly came a few times a day over the course of the next two days, sometimes sitting with Sam at Jason’s side, other times sending him home to rest and continuing the vigil on her own. Pearl was kept away from the hospital as much as possible; Beverly’s mom had rushed over when she found out and was helping out watching Pearl when both Sam and Beverly were with Jason.

She’d pat his forehead with a cool damp cloth while softly singing a lullaby to him when she stayed, trying to keep her own emotions in check while Sam just stood back, leaning against the doorframe just watching his wife and son.

It was going into the third day before Jason’s eyes finally fluttered open; his baby blue eyes glazed over and confused, blinking a few times to get his bearings as he stared at the ceiling, not noticing both his parents that had convened immediately over him, reaching to latch onto his hand.

Jason still had the breathing tube in, a fact that slowly dawned on him the more aware he became of his surrounding and his situation before he started to gag, the beeping on the heart monitor going faster and more frantic before the ventilator let out a shrill alarm. His chest heaved painfully as he struggled against the foreign object in his throat, blocking his airway and preventing him from inhaling the precious oxygen he was desperate for, unable to calm himself down to realize that he wasn’t suffocating.

Sam and Beverly tried desperately to calm him down and reassure him, but to no avail; not until the nurses and doctors rushed in, pushing them both out of the way as they gathered around Jason’s bed, administering medicine into his IV and working to remove the breathing tube before it caused actual damage.

Beverly wept into Sam’s chest when he pulled her close, though he kept his eyes on the people working on Jason as he continued to struggle against the tube in his throat.

Sam didn’t know how long it was before half the medical people finally stepped away, leaving only a few at Jason’s bedside getting him settled, finally free of the uncomfortable tube and the multiple strips of tape that had been holding it in place. Sam finally realized how much he missed seeing his son’s face.

Beverly was the first one back at his side once the nurses gave the okay, latching onto his hand immediately, a teary smile blossoming on her face when he actually turned to look at her.

“Hey, baby. Welcome back,” she said. “We’ve all missed you so much.”

Sam stood back for a while just watching Beverly saying comforting words to Jason. He stayed silent, but his eyes barely blinked from where they were trained intently on her.

His body moved of its own accord when Beverly beckoned him closer, his heart was thundering in his chest, even more so when Jason glanced over at his approach.

What would he say? What _could_ he say? An apology would barely even scratch the surface of the issues and the guilt he felt deep down. His son almost died because of him. Jason suffered for days because of his ego and what could a parent begin say to even warrant forgiveness?

But it turned out he didn’t have to say anything at all. Or rather, he didn’t get a chance to say anything because the second he stepped up to Jason’s bedside, the sob that had been bubbling in the back of his throat burst out and the tears he’d adamantly kept at bay refused to be denied anymore. Instead, he bent down low, one hand grasping the side of Jason’s jaw and neck and the other holding onto his shoulder as he leaned down to bury his face in Jason’s chest.

He didn’t think anything felt as good or sounded as good as the thumping of his son’s heart against his own chest. He felt arms slowly reaching around to circle his shoulders and latching on weakly, but it was the best most comforting hug he’d ever received.

“I’m sorry, Jason,” he said, his voice muffled against his son’s chest, “I’m so sorry. I love you so much.”

He felt the arms around him tighten a fraction and that was response enough. Eventually he forced himself to get up out of the embrace though he didn’t let go of the hold he had on Jason, instead reaching over to plant a kiss on his forehead. Any other day, that probably wouldn’t have been something he’d do so openly, especially with Jason and especially at that age, but after everything they’d been through over the last couple of days and the realization that he already almost lost his chance once to tell Jason how much he loved him; to _show_ him how much he loved him; that was reason enough for Sam in that moment.

There was a small smile tugging at Jason’s lips from under the oxygen mask when Sam glanced up to look and Sam really didn’t need anything else in life but that.

**Tbc.**


	3. Chapter 3

Coming back from… wherever it was he’d gone to wasn’t easy. It was exhausting and lonely and scary and he’d never felt more helpless or weak in his life. It was a terrible feeling. It was even worse waking up to pain and mind numbing confusion and not being able to breathe or talk or scream for help, clawing desperately at whatever it was that was choking him and feeling so utterly terrified and desperate and alone even though he could sense the presence of people around him and the voices saying words into his ear that he couldn’t understand.

But it was a soft voice calling his name, a voice that struck a chord somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind that grounded him, that pulled him back into reality. A voice that all of a sudden he missed so much and a presence that offered him comfort beyond words just by being near. He didn’t realize how much he missed her until he was staring at her face.

 _Mom_.

He didn’t remember going anywhere but he most have gone somewhere if he was suddenly returning to the sight of his mom’s tear filled eyes and her showering him in kisses and his dad sobbing softly into his chest. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his dad cry, but something terrible must have happened to illicit such a response from the usually stoic man.

He opened his mouth to ask if his dad was alright, if they were both alright, but no sound came out only the uncomfortable feeling like his throat was made of sandpaper and the air rushing past only aggravated it, sending him into a painful coughing fit that didn’t pass for almost a minute. By the time it subsided, tears were trickling down his face and it felt like his whole chest cavity up into his trachea was filled with lava, burning him from the inside.

But his mom and dad were there, stroking his hair and holding his hand and whispering words into his ear that he could barely decipher; it was only their presence he needed and having them there automatically made everything slightly less sucky.

He barely remembered going into surgery much less coming out of it. But the next thing he realized he was once again fighting his way out of the darkness, emerging into the near blinding brightness of the white ceiling and his parent’s overjoyed faces looking down at him. His whole right leg felt numb, his sore throat that had been slowly healing once again felt like he’d inhaled burning embers instead of oxygen and he felt absolutely bone-weary exhausted he could barely lift his arms an inch above the mattress. But his mom and dad were there and to Jason that mean a lot more than his pain.

It was two days after he first woke up – at least that’s what his mom told him, he had absolutely no sense of time, sometimes he even had to be reminded that he was in the hospital because he’d forget. It was a terrible feeling not being in control of one’s own mind. His mom tried cheering him on and telling him stories about everything and nothing to take his mind off things; even his dad didn’t bring up the topic of the cow or the arrest and he didn’t mention the word football even once during the duration of his stay which was the most surprising.

Almost dying seemed to take precedence over everything else which Jason was deep down rather thankful for – not the almost dying part.

But his day really started looking up when his mom brought Pearl over. At least it would have been if she didn’t burst into tears the moment she laid eyes on him. It was the absolute worst Jason ever felt watching his little sister cry because of him, _for_ him and no being able to rush over and swoop her up into his arms. But his dad was there to do what he couldn’t; lifting Pearl up and over to the bed, placing her at Jason’s side where she immediately latched onto him, her arms reaching across his shoulder and around his neck, holding on tight; her face buried into his shoulder. Jason could only slowly return the embrace; his arms still felt like lead and his movements were heavy and frustratingly restricted, but Pearl needed him in that moment and he’d made a promise to himself to always be there for her – a promise he’d sorely been neglecting unfortunately. He had a lot to make up to her for.

“I missed you, Jason,” he heard her sob and the sorrow in her voice shattered his heart to pieces.

“I missed you too, Pearl,” he said; speaking was painful and his voice came out barely above a whisper but it was enough to get Pearl’s attention who turned up a teary gaze to stare at him intently.

“Are you alright now?” she asked, sniffling softly though not easing the grip she had on his neck.

He nodded, trying to suppress a cough. “I am.”

“Promise?”

He forced a small smile onto his face that he intended to look happier than he felt on the inside. “I promise.”

The answer seemed enough for Pearl who immediately tightened her grip and burrowed deeper into his embrace immediately after.

Jason shared look with his dad who was standing back just watching the scene unfold. A small sad smile came onto his bearded face for a moment before he nodded towards the door, indicating that he’d leave him and Pearl to their privacy for a while.

Jason just let out a sigh the moment his dad stepped out the door.

So much had happened over the course of the last couple of days. He didn’t remember most of it but he could feel the physical side-effects. He was just tired, his leg hurt and didn’t hurt at the same time which was the weirdest feeling; swallowing was painful and there were still so many wires and tubes attached to him he couldn’t even find a position that was remotely comfortable; the only upside to the entire situation was his mom and dad’s presence and now Pearl’s there by his side.

His relationship with his dad had been on the rocky cliffs for a long time, pretty much since he joined the football team at his dad’s insistence. He loved playing football, but somehow, never as much as his dad loved watching him play football. Somewhere down the line, his passion for the game had turned into more of an obligation and it came to the point where he realized that he just didn’t love it as much as he once did. But he played for his dad instead for himself and at one point it just gave birth to feelings of negativity and resentment towards the man that he never hid very well.

The prank with the cow had been only half for that reason. Deep down maybe he’d wanted to get caught; maybe he’d wanted to get kicked off the team. He never intended on going to jail though, that particular outcome still sucked ass.

But the way his dad had looked at him the last couple of days; without the bitterness and the disappointment he’d grown used to seeing on his face, it was unnerving, but not unwanted. He didn’t realize how much he missed having his dad look at him with pride; how much he missed _wanting_ his dad to look at him with pride when it came to something other than football, but there it was, plain as day on his face and Jason basked in it.

A few of his football buddies had stopped by once he was moved into a regular room. Jason appreciated the visit but it wasn’t one he really wanted at that point. They were appreciative of him not ratting them out for their involvement in the unfortunate prank gone bad – as if there was any chance he would have been a snitch anyway, especially considering that it was his own stupid fault for getting caught and ending up where he did. It was a series of bad lucks and bad choices that landed Jason where it did and there was absolutely no one else to blame for it. He just waved off their thanks with the excuse that he was getting tired, which wasn’t even a complete lie anyway.

He knew he was off the team without anyone having to mention it – maybe a small part of himself was even glad; the very small part than maybe even looked forward to not being revered by the people he passed by in the hall and getting a chorus of exited _‘Jason Scott_ ’s by random strangers in town. Maybe it was weird being happy for something like that, but ultimately he was just tired and he wasn’t even talking about the physical kind.

The window at the far corner of his room was open, letting in a cool breeze and the sound of the leaves and the trees rustling in the courtyard below. The sun was shining and there was even the clichéd sound of birds singing in the distance.

Jason missed being outside. He’d only been really awake and aware for a couple of days but already he was getting antsy over being cooped up inside staring at an endless supply of bland white walls. Couldn’t they have been red or something – anything _other_ than bland ass white?

His visitor list was pretty limited, being only his parents, Pearl who was currently curled up sleeping, tucked into his side; the few guys from the football team that one time and an endless array of doctors and nurses, so he was rather confused when a person who didn’t belong to any of the aforementioned group suddenly walked in.

At second glance, he recognized him as one of the kids he’d seen around school, always meandering around by himself tinkering with something or another and not really taking note of his surroundings until he’d inevitably get body slammed into a locker or a door. He’d step in to intervene whenever it happened in front of his eyes but he wasn’t the school’s resident bouncer or anything.

“Umm, hi?” he greeted hesitantly.

“Oh, hello!” said the kid, finally looking up at Jason and then glancing around at his surrounding as if he wasn’t sure where he was or how he even got there.

“Can… I help you?”

“I’m looking for my mom,” he said, “I lost her. Or rather, she lost me would be more appropriate to say because she’s somewhere where she’s supposed to be and I’m right here where I’m not really supposed to be – Have you seen her?” and then as if he just realized what he said, immediately backtracked without Jason even getting a chance to reply. “Of course you wouldn’t have seen her, since you’re there and haven’t been around the part of the hospital where she’s supposed to be which is where I’m supposed to be. I mean –”

“Whoa – whoa – whoa,” said Jason, raising a hand to stop him mid rant. “Hang on, man, one thing at a time. Umm… _who_ are you?”

“Oh, I’m Billy. Billy Cranston! Cranston with an N like _cran_ berry, not an M like crème – you know like, the Kristy Kreme, but with a C not a K. And you’re Jason right? Jason Scott? I know you from school, I mean I know _of_ you – I’ve seen you around school with the other football guys. I heard you stole a cow and crashed a car which is crazy! I don’t know how to drive a car – or even how to handle a cow; I like cows, but I’m kind of scared of them too, but they seem like really chill animals but they’re –”

“ _Billy_ ,” said Jason, cutting him off, reaching up to massage the bridge of his nose, feeling the tell-tale signs of a headache coming on, “Not that that isn’t interesting or anything, but again – how can I help you? I haven’t seen your mom around if that’s really what you want to know.”

Billy opened his mouth to speak but both their attentions were caught by a sudden commotion coming from – of all places: outside Jason’s window. Jason wasn’t sure how that was even possible; his room was on the third floor of the hospital. However he didn’t have time to wonder over it for long because all of a sudden a dark figure came flying in through his window like something straight out of a comic book, rolling a few times and coming to a splayed halt at the foot of his bed.

Not two seconds after that a yelping Billy joined him on the floor, a third figure having barreled into him from behind sending all three of them landing in a heap at the foot of his bed. Jason sat up higher, careful not to wake his sister still sleeping curled into his side; trying to peer over the edge of the bed at the figures trying to untangle themselves and the violent profane words being thrown around by a distinctly feminine voice.

“What the hell – get off!”

“Guys! Guys! I’d appreciate if you get off me – ow, ow, ow that foot should not be that close to that part of the human anatomy.”

The third unfamiliar voice was just letting out the most insane cackling sound that Jason was convinced that he must have been an escapee from the psych ward.

“I didn’t know there was a party happening just a few doors down I would have brought my party hat,” came another new voice. Jason felt like he was getting whiplash from all the new an unexpected people who literally just materialized in his room.

He looked up to find the infamous Kimberly Hart standing with her arms crossed, leaning one shoulder against the doorframe surveying the scene with an amused gaze.

“Are these guys with you?” Jason asked.

“What? No, I thought they’re with you, since they are in _your_ room,” she answered.

It seemed like the tangled trio finally managed to free themselves from the heap because one by one they popped up off the ground like the strangest version of a human whack-a-mole.

Billy; Jason had just met, but the other two he thinks were also students at Angel Grove High, he might have seen them around school but never interacted – which wasn’t the most shocking thing.

“Guys, that was the strangest and least sexy human orgy I’ve ever been a part of,” said the Asian guy who come flying in through the window like some stunt gone bad in a Jackie Chan movie.

“You guys better stay a million and one miles away from me otherwise you’re all going to catch these hands,” said the new girl.

Jason really didn’t know what was happening, who these people were or why they were even there. “Umm, not that I don’t appreciate the visit,” he said, clearing his throat, “But… who the hell are you guys?”

“We’re the ghost of Christmas past, present and future,” sniggered the Asian guy who seemed to have a perpetual grin carved onto his face. “And this must be Tiny Tim,” he said pointing towards the angry girl in the yellow shirt.

“You wanna catch these fists dude? Keep it up.”

“Dude you came flying in through the window – we’re on the _third_ floor,” said Jason, feeling the thumping of the headache getting more apparent.

“I’m Billy. Billy Cranston. Cranston with an N –”

“Yeah Billy, I think we all know who you are,” said Kimberly, “Billy with the crayons right?”

“ _No_ – not with the crayons, that’s distinctly not possible to cram –”

“ _Anyway_ , it’s been fun guys,” said the Asian guy, dusting himself off, “But I think I better be out of here before the cops find me.”

“I still don’t know who you are or where the hell you came from,” said Jason.

“It will all be explained to you in due time,” he said in a teasing tone, the smirk still frustratingly present on his face. “But like I said, I really should –” he took one step towards the door and halted suddenly in his step.

It wasn’t anything apparent that happened or even anything that was corporeal, but all of a sudden there was a pulsating wave inside the room that resonated through all five of them, almost like a single pulsing heartbeat that they felt inside their soul.

Jason grabbed at his chest but didn’t feel anything different besides that one wave that washed through the room. He looked around at the four other occupants and realized that they’d felt the same thing.

“What the hell was that?” asked the girl in the yellow shirt, looking down at herself.

“You guys felt it too?” asked Billy, looking half excited and half freaked out which mirrored Jason’s feelings exactly.

All of them exchanged glances from one to the other, as if whatever that happened had forged a connection between them that they couldn’t see, but could somehow feel thrumming in the back of their minds like an itch.

But as soon as the feeling came, it was gone without a trace that it was ever even there.

“Must have been a like the blast of a jet engine or something,” said Kimberly.

Jason decided not to point out that feeling the blast of a jet engine would only be possible if there was a jet engine anywhere in the vicinity.

“You guys are weird,” said the other girl with a scoff, “I’m out of here, gotta go find my brothers,” she said, pushing past Kimberly and disappearing out of the room without another word.

The strange guy also followed her, muttering something about his mom absentmindedly and catching himself like he wasn’t sure why he’d even said it in the first place. As strange and as mysteriously as they’d both appeared, they were gone again. Jason hadn’t even managed to catch their names.

“Well… it’s been amusing,” said Kimberly, “Get well soon,” she said, looking at Jason and giving him an odd wink before she turned on her heels and walked out.

In the end it was just Jason and Billy in the room once again; the three other occupants had come and gone, blasting through the room like a tornado leaving confusion and many unanswered questions in their wake.

“So… did your mom come for a checkup?” asked Jason while Billy was still busy looking over himself, making sure all his limbs were still there and still attached to him. “I think outpatient treatment is on the first floor.”

“Uh? Oh – yeah, I think you’re probably right. I must have hit the wrong button on the elevator. It’s a bit tricky to press buttons with your elbows. I don’t really like touching things in the hospitals. There’s germs and bacteria on all sorts of surfaces you know.”

“Umm… yeah?” said Jason unsurely.

“Well, I should go. Bye,” said Billy turning around and leaving the room without another word, leaving Jason to stare at the door and at the now empty room strangely, his mind still trying to process what exactly had happened, who those people were and what that strange feeling was that seemed to have come over them all at the exact same time. But at least Pearl was still sound asleep beside him, so he laid back down, pulling her closer to his side and just exhaled.

He hadn’t had a moment to think about what had happened over the last couple of days and even less time to think of what was going to happen from that point on. He only knew that he was in a world of trouble, not just with his parents, but also with the school and with the police. His knee was messed up, not beyond repair but he knew that his career in football was pretty much done with. However he found that he was less sad about that fact that he really thought he’d be. The only thing he could do was take it one day at a time, just accept his punishment; being grounded and detention and whatever else was going to be thrown at him; he’d messed up badly and he didn’t think he was beyond punishment. He was going to accept it like a man.

Also once he was back on his two feet, he was going to finally going to solve the mystery of those mysterious people who’d blown through his room and find out what had brought them there in the first place. It might have been kismet, but Jason didn’t really believe in that crap. Maybe it was aliens?

He tried not to wake Pearl up with his laugher at his own dumb theory when he actually tried to process his own train of thought.

_Pfft, aliens. As if there was even such a thing._

**The end.**


End file.
